Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Español
Government Funding Lapse
Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.

clinical trial phase

(KLIH-nih-kul TRY-ul fayz)
A part of the clinical research process that answers specific questions about whether treatments or other interventions that are being studied work and are safe. Phase I trials test the best way to give a new treatment and the best dose. Phase II trials test whether a new treatment has an effect on the disease. Phase III trials compare the results of people taking a new treatment with the results of people taking the standard treatment. Phase IV trials are done using thousands of people after a treatment has been approved and marketed, to check for side effects that were not seen in the phase III trial.
Search NCI's Dictionary of Cancer Terms